It is shocking to think that the use of deadly force was authorized against a former President of the United States and his family. As a former U.S. Attorney, I can confirm that it is standard operating procedure (SOP) for the FBI to be authorized to use deadly force while executing a felony search warrant. However, it is deeply concerning to consider what could have happened during the raid on Mar-a-Lago in August 2022, when a team of SWAT officers searched the residence of a former U.S. President in the middle of the night. The Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) had the discretion to execute the search warrant while President Trump was out of town, and they could have coordinated with his legal counsel to conduct the search without resorting to “raid” tactics. However, they chose not to do so. The use of deadly force should be reserved for the most extreme situations, and it is questionable why it was deemed necessary in this case. The optics of the search warrant clearly suggest an attempt to tarnish President Trump’s reputation. The DOJ and FBI should be held accountable for their actions and should be questioned about why they authorized the use of deadly force in this case, especially when it is rarely used in white-collar investigations. The felony warrant SOP and the entire raid on Mar-a-Lago raise concerns about the potential for abuse of power by federal law enforcement agencies, particularly in politically charged cases. Law enforcement should be held to a higher standard and should not be given excessive discretion to use deadly force. The rank-and-file members of the FBI are dedicated public servants, but it is the leadership of the DOJ and FBI who failed here by choosing to weaponize their power.
Brett Tolman is executive director for Right on Crime and former United States attorney for the District of Utah. Tolman was a leading figure in the drafting and passage of the First Step Act, one of the most sweeping reforms of the federal criminal justice system in decades.
